In addition to pre-registering the fact that a study will take place, researchers can also pre-register a detailed plan for how they intend to analyse the data. We’ve seen how it’s the unplanned nature of statistical analysis – the undisclosed flexibility – that can lead scientists down forking paths to results that are statistically significant (and publishable) but don’t actually correspond to reality. The idea of pre-registering your analyses is a scientific Ulysses pact: by posting a plan for your analysis somewhere public, you lash yourself to the mast and stop yourself giving in to the
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